


Sweet Tooth

by ladyshinx



Category: Free!
Genre: Bakery Cafe AU, Falling In Love, Haruka owns a bakery that's a cafe and Nagisa works for him, Lots of dokis, Lots of sweets, M/M, Makoto is a literature student who becomes a regular customer, Rei is mentioned as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-31 01:42:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3959689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyshinx/pseuds/ladyshinx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clear Blue café welcomes a new customer, whose smile Haruka secretly thinks is sweeter than the confections he makes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweet Tooth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [uchiuchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/uchiuchi/gifts).



Haruka sighed quietly, listening to the soft symphony of violins playing out of the radio speakers as he wiped down the glass of the display case. As the music shifted tempo, his eyes drifted to the clock above the door to the kitchen, reading 3:58 pm. Only three more hours, he thought, already planning on what to make for dinner that night as he managed to finally get rid of a particularly tough, sticky stain from the hand of a too curious kid.

Just as he stood, the door opened, the chime of the bell just noticeable above the blaring noise of the trumpets. Haruka made a mental note to turn the volume down as he turned around to greet what probably would be the first customer in a very long line of customers buying the desserts he had just put on evening sale.

Walking around the counter, Haruka wiped his hands on his blue apron, before looking up at the young businessman in front of him.

"Welcome to Clear Blue Café."

* * *

Haruka's grandmother had been very passionate about her cooking. Her love for working in the kitchen had been a strong presence for most of his young life, and she had wasted no opportunity to drag him into the kitchen to teach him the craft she cherished so dearly.

It hadn't been Haruka's favorite thing, at first. The complicated recipes had bored him, and he'd rather have been anywhere else than over a hot pot of soup that he wanted nothing to do with. The only perk, however, was learning how to cook mackerel. Her sweet worded promise to teach him different variations of the fish had been the thing that had him agreeing to learn, and what had effectively kept him stuck.

What was most surprising to her, and to Haruka himself, however, was how drawn he was to the idea of creating desserts. Unlike other children, he practically had absolutely no sweet tooth, preferring fruits to the sugary sweets that others craved.

Something about putting the sweets together and making beautiful, edible masterpieces was the exact reason that, as soon as the building went on sale, and he had more than enough saving, Haruka made sure to purchase the small bakery that had closed down directly across from Iwatobi's shores.

At first, Clear Blue Café's business was almost nonexistent. Soon, however, the word spread around the sleepy fishing village of a beautiful new cafe with equally as gorgeous desserts the taste of which couldn't be described, and even spread as far as Tokyo to the point where Haruka created a delivery system for some of his desserts to be shipped anywhere within Japan.

Five years after opening, and the café had become of the most popular dessert stops in Iwatobi, and Haruka couldn't have been happier.

* * *

After two hours of seemingly endless business, Haruka found himself leaning against the counter in exhaustion, watching the clock directly above the door to the world as it ticked slowly to 6:22 pm. His peaceful break, however, was broken by a loud clattering noise from the back of the kitchen, followed by a slew of quiet swears. Rolling his eyes, he slid off the counter and made his way past the swinging door.

The moment he entered the kitchen, he found himself greeted with the sight of a batch of chocolate cupcakes smashed on the floor, and his friend, Nagisa, hurriedly trying to clean the mess. Feeling amused, and slightly annoyed by the sight, Haruka cleared his throat and watched as Nagisa jumped in surprise.

"Ah! Haru-chan! This isn't what it looks like, I swear!" The blond said, waving his hands wildly, eyes wide with panic.

"It looks like you dropped the new batch of cupcakes I asked you to make all over the floor," Haruka said, crossing his arms. Nagisa froze mid-wave before dropping his hands.

"Okay. Maybe it is what it looks like," he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I just tripped on my shoe lace and next thing I knew I lost the entire batch! I'm so sorry. You can take it out of my pay."

Haruka let out a breathy exhale in amusement and went towards the corner of the bakery to grab the broom and dustpan off the wall. "It's okay, Nagisa" he said, helping him off the floor before handing them to him. "I won't take it out of your pay." Nagisa let out an exhale of relief and Haruka quickly continued "You need to come in tomorrow morning and replace them. These needed to be ready by opening at 8 am for a customer."

Nagisa's groan of "but that's my day off!" was covered by the sound of the bell chiming softly above the door. Haruka gestured for him to start working, before walking back out into the front of the café.

When he first walked out, he paused in confusion. At first glance, the shop was empty. Just as he was entertaining the idea that maybe a gust of wind, or possibly even a ghost, had made the bell go, a strikingly tall figure suddenly stood up from crouching in front of the display case.

Haruka couldn't help but stare at the young man in front of him. The brunette was slightly taller than Haruka himself, his eyebrows pulled tightly together in thought as he continued to stare at the almost bare case of desserts.

"Can I help you?" Haruka asked, after he realized that the stranger hadn't noticed he was there. He looked up suddenly, meeting Haruka's gaze as he jumped in surprise. Haruka almost felt guilty, but he managed just barely to suppress the urge to apologize.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't see you there," the man laughed, the warmth from it spreading across the counter to Haruka. "I almost thought you were closed because there's not much left here!"

"We close in ten minutes," Haruka said, drumming his fingers softly against the back of the display case in tune to the soft music flooding through the air. "Is there anything you wanted?"

The stranger looked through the glass again and let out a pensive hum. "Do you have any kind of cakes left? I promised my mom I'd pick one up, but I got distracted by a cat on the way here, and it seems I missed all your sale items."

For a moment, Haruka imagined this giant of a man crouching down in order to scratch the head of a tiny kitten, before banishing the thought, ignoring the strange feeling in his chest at the simple image of it. He forced himself to focus, thinking about what they had left of the day that he hadn't brought to the front, and nodded to the man. "Any special requests in mind? I might have something in the back."

The stranger scratched his cheek shyly, looking down at the glass to avoid meeting his gaze. "Maybe something with chocolate?"

Haruka thought once more, and nodded, remembering that he did in fact have something. "Wait here," he said before disappearing quickly into the back.

Quickly, he made his way to the cold store room in the back, ignoring Nagisa's muttered breaths of how cruel he was for making him work in the morning as he passed him by. Checking the boxes, he found the cake he wanted, grabbing it carefully. After a thought, he opened the cake box labeled "Test cake" in Nagisa's childish scrawl. Test cake simply meant the cake they made to test the batter, and also the cake that Nagisa would take home at the end of the day.

He went out into the kitchen with both cakes in hand, he swiftly sliced a small test piece off the test cake, ignoring Nagisa once more as he complained about Haruka stealing a piece of the cake, placing the slice on a small dish with a fork. He made his way through the door again, placing the cake and small piece on the counter in front of the brunette.

"This is a sea salted caramel milk chocolate cake," Haruka said, sliding the piece of cake towards him. "It's popular here, but takes a while to make. This cake was supposed to be on sale, but we forgot to put it out. Try it." He said, gesturing to the plate.

He could tell by the worried look on the stranger's face that he wasn't sure how exactly it would taste. When Haruka first discovered the recipe, he had thought so too. However, after many failed attempts, he learned how to balance the salty flavors with the sweet ones, to create this extremely unconventional dish.

Hesitantly, the stranger took a bite. Haruka watched in satisfaction as his eyes lit up, and he immediately used the fork to slice another bite.

"This is so good! It doesn't really even taste that salty, but it adds to the flavor as well!" He exclaimed as he quickly finished the small slice off. "I think my brother and sister will love this. I'll take it."

Haruka nodded, walking over to the register to check out. "700 yen" he said, entering the price.

"A-are you sure? That seems a little underpriced!" Haruka looked up at the stranger, the confusion on his face apparent.

"Everything is half off after 4 pm. It's fine." This seemed to satisfy him, at least, enough to hand over the amount that Haruka specified. Picking up the box, the stranger smiled gently.

"Thank you very much..."

"Nanase" Haruka supplied, filling in the obvious blank.

"Thank you very much, Nanase-san. I'll be sure to come back when you aren't almost closed!"

With as much grace as he could gather, Haruka watched as he tried to balance the box in one arm, as he made his way out the door to the shop, bell chiming softly at his departure.

Haruka walked after him, peeking out the door's glass as he watched the figure hustle down the street. A small smile across his face, Haruka locked the door, pulling down the metal shutters to lock up the shop.

"Nagisa," he called out as he latched it firmly into place.

"Yes Haru-chan?" the reply came as Nagisa opened the door to the kitchen.

"You need to come in at 6:30 tomorrow to replace the cupcakes and the cake you're taking home tonight."

The despairing groan and the yell of "Haru-chan is so mean!" almost made him smile.

* * *

Starting work at 5:00 in the morning wasn't something that Haruka had particularly enjoyed. It was quiet, a small chill clinging to the air that rolled in off the sea as autumn slowly made itself known to the world. With only the sounds of the waves crashing into the sea and the sound of his footsteps, he made his way to the shop to start prep for the day.

Right before closing, a large order had been placed for a hundred mini cakes, needed by noon the next day, with a promise of a bonus amount of yen if they could be done even earlier. Begrudgingly, he had agreed, and managed to have Nagisa agree to come in as well a few hours before opening to complete them all in time. Stifling a yawn behind his hand, he turned the corner to the street where his shop was, nodding in acknowledgement to the shivering Nagisa standing outside.

"You're late, Haru-chan," he said, blond locks bouncing as he rocked up and down on his heels in an attempt to stay warm, having also rolled the long sleeves of his blue striped uniform shirt. "I can't believe I beat you!"

Letting out a quiet "mmmm" in acknowledgement, he made a note to make Nagisa a spare key, and made his way to the side door with Nagisa close behind. "You can take home leftovers today as an apology."

Nagisa let out a loud cheer behind him as Haruka flicked on the lights. Sighing as he took in the sight of the empty shop, he shrugged off his jacket. "Let's get started."

* * *

Haruka watched as the older woman and three men carry the last of the boxes out the door, shouting back their thank yous for completing the order on time. Nagisa waved goodbye, smiling cheerfully while Haruka sat hunched in a chair, resisting the urge to fall asleep.

The second they were out of sight, however, Nagisa immediately deflated, falling across the counter and let out a loud groan of pain. "Haru-chan, please never take last minute orders again. I don't care if they pay us 10,000 yen extra over the 15,000 yen they owed, it's not worth it."

"Never again," Haruka agreed, staring up at the clock in exhaustion. Between taking care of orders from walk in customers, and finishing the big order, they had been working nonstop since they walked through the door. Now it was almost noon, and Haruka knew that the lunch rush was about to start.

Haruka made his way from the chair and grabbed the clipboard off the wall that tallied their sales. Grimacing, he asked Nagisa "Can you make a new batch of Pink Sunrise and Ocean Blues? We're running low and they're our biggest sellers."

Nagisa grumbled, but pulled himself off the counter. "Fine, fine," he said, stretching out his arms. "Let me know if things get too hectic out here, okay?" before making his way behind the swinging door.

Replacing the clipboard, Haruka pulled the chair over to the counter and sat down, closing his eyes for a few seconds.....

"Um... Nanase-san?"

Haruka jolted awake, springing backwards in his chair at the small shake on his shoulder. Looking up wildly, he was greeted with the uneasy face of the customer from a few nights ago, nervously picking at the sleeve of his grey cardigan.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Nanase-san," he said, waving his arms in front of him in apology. "I just... didn't think you wanted to be sleeping?"

Haruka rubbed his eyes and glanced up at the clock. Only ten minutes had passed, and he let out a small sigh of relief as he stood from the chair, shaking out any lingering sleep from his body. "Thanks..." He paused, realizing with a jolt he didn't know how to address him.

"Ah," the stranger said, the warmth from his smile reflecting in his eyes as he seemed to realize what Haruka was thinking. "Tachibana Makoto."

"Thanks, Tachibana-san. Can I get anything for you?" Haruka made his way over to the display case, motioning to the desserts on display.

"Anything you recommend that's chocolate? My family loved the cake you made last time, and I really would love to try something else that's chocolate!"

Haruka looked down in the case, and pointed to the chocolate topped cakes in front of Tachibana. "Those are Choco-lattes," he said, grimacing at the name. "They're chocolate cupcakes infused with coffee and cream."

"Choco-latte?" Tachibana said, very obviously trying to restrain his laughter. "You don't seem very pleased with the name."

"My...co-worker came up with it. Would you like one?"

Tachibana seemed to contemplate the idea, before nodding. "Can I have a small strawberry lemonade as well?"

Haruka nodded, putting on a pair of gloves, before reaching in to grab the cupcake. He paused for a moment. "For here or to go?"

"Here, please. I think I'll stay for a while and do some homework, if you don't mind?"

Haruka shrugged, placing the cupcake on a plate, before turning around to make the drink. "The wifi password is "iwatobichanlove" if you would like to use it," he said, mixing the drink and popping a few slices of fresh strawberries off the shelf into the drink, before sealing it with a lid.

"Your co-workers idea too?" Tachibana teased as he grabbed his wallet out of his pocket.

Haruka felt flushed under the collar, turning away as he slid the food towards Tachibana. "350 yen."

* * *

Two hours later, Haruka found himself wiping down the counter after the lunch rush finally slowed down. It had been a nonstop slew of customers, mostly take outs thankfully, and he was finally able to take a short break.

Satisfied, he walked towards the table next to Tachibana, who was hunched over his books, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as typed quickly on his laptop. He cleaned off the crumbs left behind by the other customer who had been sitting there, before leaning back and stretching out the kinks in his spine from standing for a long time, yawning in relief.

"Long day, Nanase-san?" Tachibana pushed the chair out next to him with a foot, gesturing for him to take a seat. Haruka only hesitated for a few moments, before taking him up on the offer.

"You could say that," he said as he sat down, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes.

He heard a huff of air near him that could only be a muffled laugh. "I think I would. You were sleeping on the job earlier." The teasing tone wasn't missed.

"We had to start earlier than normal," he grumbled, hiding his face from the other. The same quiet huff of laughter was noticeable and Haruka felt flushed under the collar.

"That must have been rough," Tachibana said sympathetically, trying to hide a yawn behind one of his hands as Haruka looked back at him, his green eyes blurry with sleep himself. "I've been trying to finish this essay before my class in two hours, and it's not going so well."

Haruka went to ask, curious to learn more about this gentle boy, but was interrupted when Nagisa came out of the back room, yelling "Haru-chan, the Pink Sunrises need decorated and I can't do them as well as you!" Haruka turned to look at Nagisa, not missing the glimmer of mischief in the other's eyes as he observed the two.

"I'll let you get back to work, Nanase-san," Tachibana said, giving him a warm smile. "Thank you for sitting with me."

Haruka nodded, before standing up and pushing the chair in. He made his way back to the kitchen, pausing briefly before disappearing behind the door to call out:

"Haruka."

He peeked out of the corner of his eye, and saw Tachibana's confused gaze. "Call me Haruka... Or Haru."

Tachibana's emerald eyes widened with surprise, before the smile made them crinkle shut.

"Then please call me Makoto.... Haru-chan."

Haruka flushed at the nickname and quickly disappeared through the door, shooting Nagisa a glare when he giggled.

* * *

For the next two work weeks, Makoto had walked through the door at almost noon, ordering a different chocolate based dessert each time, along with the same strawberry lemonade. He sat at the same table, typing quickly on his laptop while Haruka worked on serving the customers as they came in, sometimes calling Nagisa out to the front in order to help.

Every day, once the rush customers had slowed down, Haruka took to wiping the tables, before sitting down with Makoto each time the brunet pushed his chair outward in invitation.

Each time they spoke, Haruka learned more about the gentle customer with a sweet tooth for chocolate creations, learning about anything from his classes at the local college to this younger twin siblings who cut into his study time every night he came home.

"I love them," he said one day, using a spoon to scoop a strawberry out of the melted ice of his drink, "but they can be a little too demanding that I play games with them."

Haruka watched as he popped the strawberry into his mouth, before blinking his attention away from the other’s lips. "They sound like a handful."

"They are," he said with a despondent sigh, before looking up to Haruka with a smile that wrinkled the corners of his eyes. "Thankfully you have such a lovely cafe here, that I get all my work done before I have to head home or to school."

Haruka felt himself flush, before turning away from the other, choosing to ignore the other's soft laughter. "It's nothing special."

"I think it is," Makoto said, putting his cup down before cracking his knuckles. "It's made it easier for me to focus on this art history class of mine. I'm a literature major, and am terrible in art, but the relaxing music you play here always puts me at ease."

Haruka looked back to him, shifting his chair a little closer. "What's the assignment you're working on?"

Makoto tilted his laptop screen closer to Haruka, to show him a beautiful scene of a lake, the white clouds reflecting into the water as though it was a mirror. The greenery around it glowed under the painted sun, and drew attention towards the viewer.

"We have to describe this art piece, and decide what the main focus of it is. I thought it was the lake, but knowing my luck with art, I'm wrong."

Haruka leaned closer, highly aware of the proximity between the other man and himself, and how the other seemed to shift as he realized it too. At first he could see what the other meant, with the lake seeming to reflect the world around it as though it were a mirror into a different world.

However, he realized the more he examined, that the giant leaves growing out of the pond had no reflection, and drew his eyes the more he looked. Clearing his throat, he pulled himself away. "It seems that the lake would be the most important, with it being the main focus of the piece. The greenery, though," he said, pointing, "is the only piece that has no equal to them, glowing a beautiful emerald," Haruka looked up and met Makoto's gaze, "almost like your eyes."

As he watched said eyes widen in surprise, Haruka felt himself grow hot under the collar. Before Makoto could say anything, the bell above the door rang, and Haruka took it as an excuse to escape from the awkward tension.

By the time he looked back to the table after dealing with the older gentleman and his granddaughter, Makoto was gone, with his glass having disappeared as well, and a 100 yen note sitting innocently on the table beside his empty plate.

* * *

A week had gone by, and Makoto hadn't made an appearance after the art fiasco. Haruka quickly threw himself into baking, trying to create something new for the café menu, before finally come up with a pastry dessert with apples.

He sat at the front counter, looking down at the failed note ideas for a name during a lull in the crowds, Nagisa sitting on a stool beside him.

"I think Apple Yums is still a good idea," Nagisa said, pouting as he stared at the word crossed out on the notepad.

"It doesn't fit right," he said, tapping his pen against the counter as he stared at the empty seat next to the window.

Nagisa followed his line of direction, before humming thoughtfully. "Your lover boy hasn't been in here in a few days, hmm?"

"I guess," he grumbled, annoyed at having been read so easily. He fingered the pocket of his dark black apron, where the gift he had been intending to give Makoto had sat for the past two days, waiting.

"I don't think you screwed up," the blond yawned, stretching across the counter like a lazy cat, before looking up at Haruka. "He seemed to be in a rush while he talked on the phone when I peeked out last time he was here."

Haruka looked down at him, before pushing him backwards with his foot into a seated position. "Go make some more Butterfly Pies. You took the last ones we had home last night to Rei."

"Fine," Nagisa said, pulling the stool back to its spot in the corner. "Keep thinking of a name that ‘fits’," he said, air quoting the word as he mimicked Haruka's voice. He couldn't help but smile at the other's antics.

Before he disappeared behind the door, Nagisa looked over his shoulder, and smiled sadly to Haruka. "Don't worry, Haru-chan. He'll come back. You're too hot for him to ignore!"

He cackled as he ducked behind the door, just narrowly avoiding the notebook being thrown at his back.

* * *

The days passed by slowly for Haruka, and even though Nagisa's words were comforting, he still wasn't convinced that he'd ever show up again.

Working on the unnamed apple pastry the next Monday, Haruka added the finishing touches of powdered sugar on top at the same moment he heard the front door bell ring. "Please get that," Nagisa said, raising his voice over the sound of the blender, "I can't let this sit yet!"

Haruka made a gesture of acknowledgement, balancing the pan of pastries on one hip as he pushed the door open with his other, before looking to the customer at the counter and stopping short.

Standing in a red plaid shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and dark frames resting on his face, stood Makoto, an anxious look on his face.

"Welcome to Clear Blue Café," Haruka said, keeping his voice steady as he walked to the display case, sliding it open to place the newest creation into it. "Can I get you anything?"

Makoto seemed to sense the tension, shifting from one foot to the other, staring into the display case in a clear attempt to avoid making eye contact. "What do you recommend... Haru?"

Ignoring the flutter in his chest at his name, Haruka looked into the case, before reaching in with the tongs to grab one of the pastries he'd put out. "This is something new I'm trying. It's a simple pastry dough with apples, and some preserves inside."

"Does it have a name?" Makoto asked, pulling out his wallet as Haruka plated it, before working on the strawberry lemonade he knew Makoto would order.

"Not yet," Haruka said, sealing the drink, and placing the two items down on the counter. "We're taking suggestions, if you have any. 350 yen."

Handing over his money, Makoto smiled. "I'll be sure to think of something!" Grabbing his items, he made his way over to his regular table, before pausing. "Haruka... I-"

The sound of the bell interrupted whatever he was going to say as a line of customers made their way into the shop, gigging loudly. Haruka shot Makoto a look, nodding to the table and tried to convey with his eyes, later.

Makoto let out a shaky smile, nodding, before setting up his books and laptop. Haruka let his gaze linger a few more seconds, before turning to the customers in front of him.

* * *

An hour later, the normal rush finally slowed down, and Haruka had no excuse after wiping down the last table to ignore the chair being pushed out in invitation. Hesitating for a few seconds, Haruka pulled the chair out the rest of the way and sat down.

"Hey, so," Makoto said, sliding his glasses off his face before resting them on the table. "About where I've been."

"It's fine," Haruka interrupted, running his fingers over the object in his apron pocket, keeping his eyes fixed on the edge of Makoto's laptop.

"Ah, but I still feel like you deserve an explanation" Haruka looked up to see him scratching his cheek in nervousness. "My mom called suddenly because my dad fell and broke his leg. I had to run out and ended up having to help around at home during my lunch times and in the evenings, and didn't have time to stop in." He looked down at Haruka, smiling warmly. "I missed seeing you too."

Haruka felt flushed at Makoto's blatant honesty. A warm, bubbly feeling rose up in his chest at the words. _I missed seeing you too_.

"Here", Haruka blurted out, shoving the flash drive he had had sitting in his pocket for the past week, waiting for a chance to give it to Makoto. The brunet took it, downturned eyebrows furrowed in question. "It's... a copy of the playlist for the café. You said you liked it, so..."

Realization lit up in Makoto's eyes, and he let out a soft laugh. "Thanks, Haru. You remembered!"

Haruka let out a smile as well, before Nagisa came out of the back door, and interrupted the moment. "Haru-chan, can you come back here please? I'm having a crisis back here!" His voice raised up higher in octave, and Haruka knew it was urgent.

Haruka nodded to Makoto, quickly standing to go help Nagisa. "Ah, before you go," Makoto said, writing something down on a napkin with a pencil. He handed it over to Haruka, saying "I need to get going, but please wait until I'm gone to open this, okay?" as he folded it in half before handing it to the chef.

Haruka agreed, making his way to the back of the kitchen as Makoto cleaned his table up. The moment he walked into the back of the kitchen, Nagisa slapped him in the back, saying, "See? You're too sexy for him to have ignored!"

Haruka stared at the ceiling of the kitchen, ignoring the pats on the back, before asking, "How in the world did you get batter up there?"

* * *

It wasn't until after the shop had closed, and he had said goodnight to Nagisa, that he remembered the napkin that Makoto had given him. He decided to wait for until he got home, and began to fry some vegetables along with a piece of mackerel before he finally got the nerves to open it.

When he read what was on it, he couldn't help the wide smile that spread across his face.

_tachibana_makoneko@emobile.jp_

_Would you like to go out for a coffee sometime?_

_Also, maybe Summer Blossoms! It was like a taste of summer in my mouth, at least._

_-Makoto_

* * *

[21:23:15]

**To** : tachibana_makoneko@emobile.jp

**From** : nanasaba_haruka@emobile.jp

Sub: **[no subject]**

      makoneko, huh?

      are you free on saturday to meet me at the café?

* * *

When he heard the knock on the side door to the cafe, Haruka smoothed out the sleeves to his blue sweater, hoping his hair didn't look like a mess anymore from the wind.

Nagisa had cheered when he told the blond about his date, and had immediately helped him plan out a menu of desserts for them to eat after Haruka had cooked green curry and rice, what Makoto had said was his favorite.

Unlocking the door, he let Makoto inside, smiling as he looked into the café. Haruka showed him to the table that Nagisa had placed in the middle of the cafe, which was covered in a blue checkered table cloth, and decorated with two candles that Haruka had blown out in embarrassment.

"Woo him, Haru-chan!" Nagisa had said, and Haruka decided to try to listen, pulling out the chair for Makoto to sit in.

They sat together, talking comfortably about their weeks, and learning more about each other while they ate their dinners, Haruka feeling more at ease as each moment went by. Soon, it was time for dessert, and Haruka felt himself twitching slightly with nervousness.

"Stay here," he said, getting up and going behind the counter, making a strawberry lemonade and himself a cappuccino, placing them to the table, before disappearing into the kitchen. Letting out a shaky breath, Haruka grabbed the two plates Nagisa had set up, and made his way back through the swinging door to where the brunet sat quietly waiting.

"Your favorites," he said, placing the plate with a Choco-latte and one of the apple pastries down in front of the other, a similar dish sitting in front of himself.

"Ah, Haru, thank you! This is so wonderful!" He said, beaming up at Haruka with a giant smile. He looked to the apple treat and picked it up, examining it. "Have you come up with a name for this one yet?"

Not trusting his voice, he nodded, and retrieved the name piece from behind the counter, before coming back, and quietly placing it before Makoto.

The silence was thick between the two of them as Makoto read it, before he let out a long, steady breath of his name as he dropped the pastry in surprise back onto the plate.

"Haruka... this is..."

Twitching his fingers, Haruka couldn't fight the warm feeling of butterflies fluttering around in his stomach as he stared at the smile spreading across the other's lips. He wanted nothing more than to kiss them, and to see if they tasted just as sweet as the desserts they enjoyed.

A voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Nagisa cheered "Just go for it!!" _Oh screw it_ , he thought, and decided to listen to his own personal little devil.

Grabbing the other by his shirt, he pulled Makoto close to himself and gave him a kiss, smiling into it when the other returned it with gusto. _He’s even sweeter._

On the table, the innocent pink and white sign read in curly letters:

_Summer Blossoms_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> This is a gift for Lana, who helped me come up with the idea in the first place when I was just musing about it!
> 
> When I say mini cakes, imagine [this](http://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/recipes/desserts-cakes/mini-cakes-raspberry-chocolate-nests)
> 
> I don't have an image for Pink Sunrises or Ocean Blues but I imagine Pink Sunrises to be colorful cupcakes with pink icing that looks like a sunrise, and then blue cookies. 
> 
> Also, [Summer Blossoms](http://40.media.tumblr.com/47ed418553e1a79ae8c63787dabc55c2/tumblr_nm7mbadUJT1ro9rq7o5_540.jpg)
> 
> Thank you Joni for helping me with editing ; v; !!
> 
> find me on twitter at @harumakotokyo and on tachinana.tumblr.com


End file.
